F1 vs Indy500?

F1 went through some pretty big calendar changes this year. A decision was made to change when certain races take place, mainly to help the sport's aim of becoming environmentally friendly. There was one race change that made a lot of people do a double take. The Canadian Grand Prix had moved to become the race after Miami. It made perfect sense since the freight could stay in North America instead of going all the way back to Europe like it has done.

But the date that it was falling on was the shock. This year, the Canadian Grand Prix is going to be held on the same day as the Indianapolis 500.

There was the question of why F1 had to pick that weekend? There's a two-week gap between the Miami GP and the Canadian GP. That would have given them the space to run the race without having to compete with IndyCar.

The Indy 500 is the biggest event on the IndyCar calendar and forms a part of the Triple Crown of motorsport. And F1 has always had a race on the same day as the event. Usually, it's the Monaco Grand Prix, and because of the time difference, the two have rarely ever clashed. Overlaps have only happened when there have been delays, but usually there's enough time between the two that fans can watch both without pulling viewership from one.

The Canadian GP and the Indy500 risked having a huge overlap in race times, however. Was F1 really willing to go head to head with one of the most exciting races of the year? For those unfamiliar with the Indy 500, the race can be chaotic at the best of times and is extremely unpredictable. There's no telling who's going to win or how many cars will even make it to the finish line. There's an excitement there that F1 can't always seem to hold, especially with the latest generation of cars.

So, did they really think they could beat out IndyCar, especially for viewership in North America?

It doesn't seem so. To try to avoid the clash, F1's decided to shift the start time for the Canadian Grand Prix. Instead of starting at the usual 2pm local time, it'll start at 4pm. That gives the Indy 500 3 hours and 15 minutes of running before there's the chance of any overlap. So, barring any weather delays or huge accidents, it should be enough for them to finish the race. But if you've ever watched the Indy500, then you'll know that things are rarely ever that straightforward. Still, it's better than what could have happened with the original start time.

Even though there's increasing momentum for Formula One in North America, with the audience growing every year, F1 still didn't want to risk losing viewership here. Especially not to a race that is highly anticipated. Whilst the Canadian GP can bring some great racing, there's something extremely special about the Indy 500 that no one can deny. F1 made the right choice to move the race time.